He came back.
“Hey,” he said.
The word puffed in the cold.
For a second, my brain stuttered while my heart skipped beats.
He’s here.
He left.
He came back.
There’s snow on his pants.
He’s holding a plant. Why is he holding a plant?
Say something, Milly.
“What… are you doing here?” I managed. It came out breathy and weak.
He swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing. “I forgot something.”
I blinked. “You drove all the way from Denver because you forgot something?”
He nodded.
The plant’s leaves trembled slightly with the cold.
“Oh,” I said brilliantly.
“I, uh…” He shifted his weight, boots creaking on the planks. “I wasn’t sure how this would go. Or if you’d slam the door.”
Inspector wove around his ankles, purring.
“Traitor,” I muttered to the cat.
Austin’s mouth tugged up.
A thousand feelings jostled in my chest. Relief. Anger. Joy. Hurt. Love. It was all there.
“You left,” I heard myself say. “You said you weren’t sure you could stay, and then you left.”
“I know,” he said, the words soft. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to stay. Or if you…” He took a breath. “The fact is, I missed you. I’d forgotten about the contract until Browne told me it was fulfilled. Then, when I brought it up a few days later, you said nothing, and I didn’t know. But when I got to Denver…” He shook his head. “It felt wrong. The office felt wrong. The apartment felt wrong. Everything looked exactly like I’d left it, and none of it felt like home.”
“And your job?” I asked. “Reaper. Harris. The cases?”
“Still there,” he said. “Just… longer distance. They don’t need me in Denver. Not really. I can yell at rich people remotely just as effectively as I can in person.” His mouth twitched. “I believe the direct quote was, ‘Now get lost. I’m too old to listen to you mope.’”
A startled laugh escaped me. “Sounds like him.”
“I put in notice on the apartment. Packed my bag. The rest,” he gestured toward the pasture, the house, the life he’d somehow woven himself into, “is up here. If you’ll still have me.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried right into my heart.
When he met my eyes, there wasn’t a single flinch. Just certainty, and the fear a man only feels when he’s holding his whole heart out in both hands.
“I love you, Milly.”
